Grilled Green Beans and Garlic Scapes

I love garlic scapes in the early summer. The other night, I cut them into pieces about the size of green beans and grilled them with green beans and served them together. Yum! The garlic scapes are sweet and tender and the green beans are fresh and crunchy. Great mix!

Grilled Lobster

This is such a great way to do lobster. The cutting them down the middle while they're alive is a little awful/creepy/terrifying. I had Jamie do it, but I think you can ask a fishmonger to do it for you, too. The combination of the herb butter and the smoke of the grill gives the meat an excellent flavor and seems to concentrate the flavor, too. Definitely want to make this again!

Grilled Rack of Lamb

These lamb chops are fantastic! The flavors are so great, and it's really simple. I took the ingredients from this lamb rib recipe and converted it for a rack of lamb (basically just changing the cooking time/method). Can't wait to make it again. The vinegar baste adds a great tang, and I love pomegranate molasses with lamb for a sour sweetness. The sugar in the rub adds a crispy, flavorful crust when charred. It only needs an hour at room temperature to marinate in the spice rub, so it's a great weeknight dinner or pretty easy weekend dinner party meal. 

Ingredients:

1 rack lamb chops

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp kosher salt

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Chicken Kabobs

We had a big weekend of eating and drinking (see monkey bread), so I wanted something a little lighter for dinner. I found this recipe for kabobs - yum! I had to alter it slightly because I didn't have aleppo pepper, but it worked out great with paprika, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. Yogurt is a great base for chicken marinades because it tenderizes the chicken and keeps is juicy when you're cooking at a high temperature. Usually, grilled chicken breast is pretty dry but this chicken is super moist and flavorful. I serve it with pita, tzatziki, babaganoush, and some Greek salad. 

Ingredients:

3 big chicken breasts, cut into 1.5" pieces

1 tbsp paprika

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp warm water

Balsamic Glazed Salmon on a Cedar Plank

This is awesome! Jamie and I picked up two cedar planks a while back and hadn't gotten around to using them until last night. I wasn't sure it would make a huge difference, but wow, it definitely does! It gives the salmon this amazing, smokey, camp fire flavor. It was so, so good and I can't wait to try it again. I made a balsamic glaze to put on top which complemented it perfectly. You just have to soak the plank for at least an hour beforehand and you're ready to go.